Allan Brown wins Sir Edmond & Sound Cocktail Competition, Netherlands

First cocktail & sound pairing competition ever

Allan Brown is the winner of Sir Edmond & Sound, the world’s first cocktail & sound pairing competition. In the Tunes Bar of the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam, the bartender of the Breakaway Café in Rotterdam stunned both guests and jury with a cocktail that stimulated all senses.

Twenty bartenders compiled a soundtrack in three parts for the making, the serving and the consuming of their cocktail creation. Competing for 1000 euros of prize money, they had to convince the jury (Timo Janse, Sander Lucardie and Sandro Ivanić) with a perfect combination of music and mixology.

Ode to Frank Sinatra

At the end of a titillating afternoon, Allan Brown was named ‘grand winner’ of the first ever Sir Edmond & Sound Cocktail Competition. His sour style cocktail called My Wayturned out to be a tasty ode to Frank Sinatra. The second place went to Wouter Bosch of Rosalia’s Menagerie, who’s The Maverick Fizz was an homage to the Pornstar Martini. Milos Stanisic of Bar C came in third with his cocktail Kintsugi, inspired by Japanese pottery art.

“I didn’t think I’d stand a chance”

Winner Allan Brown can still hardly wrap his head around what happened. “It was truly amazing. I was the first to present and had to wait a long time for the jury verdict. A lot of people were positive about my performance, but the more bartenders I saw, the better the presentations got. I didn’t think I’d stand a chance. When Sandro mentioned my name, I couldn’t believe it at first. Right after I felt pure joy.”

With his cocktail and accompanying soundtrack – Fly Me to the Moon, Angel Eyes and New York, New York – Brown wanted to evoke and elegant experience: you’re suited up sitting in a luxurious hotel bar, somewhere in Las Vegas, while Frank Sinatra performs live on stage. “He was a legendary entertainer and one of the first rock stars. Everyone looked at him, everyone wanted to be him. At the competition, everything fell into place: the story, the music, even the location – the Tunes Bar seems to be made for my cocktail.

My Way: the winning recipe

50 ml Sir Edmond Gin

2,5 ml Averna

25 ml Walnut & fig syrup

20 ml Fresh lemon juice

2 dash Angostura bitters

Egg white

Garnish: Caramelized golden fig & a spray of Sir Edmond Gin

My Way will be added to my serves, and an interview and photo shoot with the :winner of the Sir Edmond & Sound Cocktail Competition will be up on the Flamingo Journal soon. Stay tuned!